LogFAQs > #880502565

MrZAP17 posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Again though, they are not labelled superheroes and that is pretty much it.

You said it. I think this is the crux of the matter, honestly. I see your point with the other things, but like you said there are exceptions to all of those; they're far from rigid. Some of them like the setting and the comic origin seem to be completely arbitrary to me.

My argument is if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck etc..

They also don't conceal their identity. Honestly, I get what you are saying, but it basically boils down to watering down the idea of 'superheroes' to be so generic they are applicable to anything (for example, the Carebears).

The way genre works is pretty simple; it's a set of cliches and ideas that works of fiction (or non-fiction/partial fiction in some cases) share. Superheroes conventions include masks, costumes, powers, secret identities, do-goodery, etc. Really, Jedi only hit two marks; they have powers and they are benevolent. However, the second is not really a part of superheroes as much as it is a convention of protagonists in general. Otherwise, you basically have powers, which is way, way too general.